Monday, February 07, 2011

Game for learning? Not Monday morning in the Pittsburgh schools

Steeler Nation, as we all know, is no nanny state. So why do Pittsburgh Public Schools students need a two-hour delay the morning after the Super Bowl?

The reason, the district said, is "for the safety of our students."

A spokeswoman said Thursday, "As you know, with the Super Bowl comes a lot of Super Bowl parties and such. We just feel it's best not to have our students out very early with people who have been up late." The people she was referring to were those "on the road who may be out early after having a very late night."

While some Pittsburghers have been known to celebrate a Super Bowl victory with excessive gusto, it's easier to imagine their recklessness in public between midnight and 2 a.m. than at 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. We can't help but wonder if the real reason for canceling the first two hours of class Monday is to give adults -- parents, teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria staff, etc. -- more time to get on their game face for work. If so, for shame.

The Steelers and all our sports teams are hard workers, and sports teaches us that. But it is also a prime teacher of and platform for building relationships. We are Pittsburgh. We know Coach Tomlin. We feel for the players and the team and the organization and the city and the region and each other. This is a time to travel, to network, to be in community. And this time and these lessons are not presented every week nor every lifetime.

We take an extra two hours to insure that we value and invest the relationships of community.

Then there is one other reason. Those that work hard, rest hard. Recovery is part of the wellness factors. To study and learn in school, we have to be prepared.

The NFL gives the teams an extra week to prepare for the SuperBowl. We can provide an extra two hours to prepare for the Monday classroom. That's our time to shine and we want to be there -- ready to do the heavy lifting of learning.

I'm glad we had an extra two hours today. Next time, I'll ask for a two and a quarter hours -- just for good measure as I'm still running a tad late.